10 Dollars 5th Death Anniversary of Pope John Paul II

Nauru's numismatic program has long operated as a revenue mechanism rather than a reflection of national monetary life — the island has no independent currency in circulation, using the Australian dollar instead. This piece marks five years since John Paul II's death in April 2005, issued the same year Benedict XVI beatified his predecessor, fast-tracking a process that would conclude with canonization in 2014.

KM# 105 is one of dozens of papal commemoratives flooding the collector market from small Pacific issuers during this period. Nauru's program was administered largely through external distributors.